New Vintage Digital Vernacular Letters

Thanks to digital cameras, smart phones, nearly unlimited storage space, and online social sharing, it is easier than ever to capture, collect, and share images. Particularly exciting is the now relatively mainstream pursuit of photographing interesting found type and lettering. Whether it is encountered in one’s neighborhood or stumbled upon while traveling, there is seemingly no end to unique letters to be collected. This phenomenon is illustrated through dozens of blogs dedicated to found letters, to Flickr’s countless tagged images of type, and by sites like we love typography – currently with 12,000+ curated images.

New Vintage Digital Vernacular Letters is modestly comprised of just under 600 images* from 120 participants from all over the world. These photos depict the letters as shiny and new, dilapidated and old, incredibly beautiful, incredibly ugly, mundane, idiosyncratic, everyday, unimaginable, local, and exotic. The images were shot in more than 40 countries and the variety of letterforms indicates just how special letters and typography can be. If you weren’t already taking notice of the vernacular type all around you, you will begin to after taking in this collection.